Mixed Greens Blog

It occurred to me recently that we emphasize local/seasonal food on this blog, which implies the importance of cooking.  Maybe we need to declare it more emphatically, champion the act of cooking in the same way we champion the use of local/seasonal ingredients, carpooling and unplugging electronics. Cooking meals from scratch is in itself an important sustainable act. Buy whole, fresh food, buy it from wherever, but cook it yourself and that’s something.  I don’t mean ‘from wherever’ literally, but I say it to make a point. Seasonal and local ingredients, yes of course, but isn’t just cooking a meal using whole foods a significant step toward sustainability?

The other side of this coin are prepackaged, processed food-like substances. Two NY Times articles got me going: one was about a father who cooks with his four-year old son almost daily (Fry Daddy); the other about the biggest challenge for Biggest Losers (tv show) is teaching contestants how to shop for and cook healthy meals from scratch (In Kitchen, ‘Losers’ Start From Scratch).  From different points of view, each article implies the powerful relationship of food and cooking to our own health and that of the planet, its impact on building community.  Bringing our kids along for that ride is part of the deal.

Processing requires all kinds of fuel for production and transport, handlers along the way, middlemen, packaging, and after all that the final product contains ingredients that are unnecessary and unrelated to what we know as food. Michael Pollan, trying to condense and simplify how one might approach identifying real food, says to buy only what our great-grandmothers would recognize.  Pop tarts and tater tots might not pass the test.

While sustainable practices are the goal, making it attainable and practical is also important. Thinking that it all might be impossibly difficult and therefore why try, is probably self-defeating. For some, cooking is challenging, uninteresting and/or completely unfamiliar, making the thought of buying whole foods irrelevant and intimidating. No matter that it’s locally grown, what do I do with this stuff?  Maybe the Food Network has been helpful in this regard. Such circumstances have to be sorted out in order to get to the cooking part of living sustainably.

Lucky for me, cooking was part of my family’s culture growing up.  My mother and father both cooked, and so did my grandparents.  True, the specialties were gender specific and it was mostly the mothers who organized it, but thanks to mom and dad I’m at ease cooking, as is my brother.  I don’t mind cooking and most often enjoy it.

IF ingredients are available at home and stopping at the store isn’t required, then cooking a meal quickly is possible. It has everything to do with having the inclination, having food on hand, a few flexible ingredients, and the willingness to put it together at day’s end.  This link takes you to a great little audio slideshow that shows how four busy people in NY City return home in the evening and cook familiar meals. Check it out.   For Dinner (& Fast), the Taste of Home

What are some essentials to keep in the kitchen that will save the day, save us from processed food for supper?  What are fast meals with a sustainable conscience?  What if you want to live more sustainably, but hate to cook? Future conversations.  Cooking from scratch is enough to consider for the moment.